The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., March 04, 1921, Page ELEVEN, Image 11

About The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924

Image provided by: Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT

                
ELEVEN
SIMPLE, DIGNIFIED INAUGURATION AS PRESIDENT HARDING TAKES OFFICE
Sworn In As President
IN TAKING OATH OF OFFICE TODAY I mijJ
(By International News Service.) fjjF jpjppjr
00 "WStF
jfeyjlH lllr Pennsylvania Avenue, Where Crowds Cheered President As He
iS LB Rode In Inaugural Procession In An Automobile
( 4 1 111 n ' ' ...... .. - - V . : --y
1739-
Coatclv ai" Ivt
Washington, T. C. When President "Warren G. Harding took the
oath of ofiii'e as s 'resident of the United States .at the inaugural cere
monies today he laid his hand upon he same Bible which was used for
the first inauguration of George Washington in 17 S9.
President Harding expressed the wish that this sere and yellow Bible,
carefully preserved for over 132 years, be used in administering the oath
of office, instead of the Bible of the Supreme Court of the United States,
which is customarily used at inaugurations.
The old Bible is the most sacred and treasured possession of St.
John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, No. 1, of Now York City. In
recent years it has been kept perpetually under lock and key in a safety
deposit vault to protect it from the ravages of time. It was taken from
its resting place a few days ago and, guarded by a delegation of three
stalwart Masons, selected by the lodge, was brought to this city. These
guardians of the priceless treasure have never allowed the Bible from
their sight during the inauguration trip, and tney were stationed on the
inauguration platform today, handing the book to Chief Justice "White,
who administered the oath to the President. After the oath was admin
istered the Bible v.-as immediately returned to their keeping.
The Bible became the instrument of George Washington's induction
into office in a curious way. The first President wa3 sworn into office at
the then Federal building in New York City, which stood on the site of
the present Sub-Treasury. There was not a single copy of the Bible in
the building and Chancellor Livingston, who was to administer the oath,
was Master of St. John's Lodge of Mesons. He sent a messenger to the
lodge rooms nearby for the lodge Bible and Washington placed his hand
upon it as the oath was delivered, and at its close pressed his lips to the
opn page before him.
The Bible will be returned to the safety deposit vault after the in
auguration today.
Ends Checkered Career
Commander Of Harding Cavalry Escort
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Major George Patton, commande r of the battalion of escort cavalry
from Fort-Myer, Virginia.
Official Business Takes
Precedence Over Celebration
As Harding Assumes Office
By DAVTO CHURCH.
(International News Service Staff
Correspondent.)
Washington. President "Warren G.
Harding has struck a new note in
Presidential inaugurations.
The inauguration of the Ohioan to
day was a happy medium .between the
simple and almost undignified cere
money when Thomas Jefferson took
office and the pomp and ceremony
attendant to the swearing in of Ulys
ses S. Grant.
Passing down historic Pennsylvania
avenue today, the simple inaugural
parade of President Harding drifted
through the shadows of a score of in-
that have marked the progress of the
nation.
It is a far cry from the weary drive
of George "Washington from his Mount
"Vernon home to New York to the
dash by motor made by President
Harding from the "White House to
the Capitol.
George Washington's inaugural pro
cession lasted fourteen days, and re
lays of coaches and saddle horses
were necessary for his long drive.
President Harding was whisked ro
the Capitol in a very few, minutes in
the most modern of motofr vehicles.
The shadows of other inaugurals
hovering over "Washington today run
the gamut of variety, from the fourteen-day
trip of' George "Washington
,and the heavily guarded inauguration
ot Abraham Lincoln to the quiet and
unostentatious proceedings of today
Spring had barely banished the ice
on the Potomac Elver and the roads
were still muddy from the thawing
frosts, when George Washington left
Mount Vernon on April 16, 17S9 in a
horse-drawn carriage for New Yoi"k,
to take the oath of office. The first
President had proceeded no farther
than Georgetown then a thriving
port and now a residential section
of Washington when he was met by
a cavalcade. For the next fourteen
days his drive was a procession of
honor, with celebrations all along the
route as he proceeded. On April 30,
17S9, the guns boomed at Fort George .
in New "Fork harbor and the first in
auguration was under way. The
streets of New Tork were thronged
as George "Washington, in a stage
coach, preceded by military bodies
and dignified delegations, drove to the
Federal Building and took the oath
of office. The guns boomed forth
again and the church bells pealed as
Washington attired in dark . brown
broadcloth and properly bewigged,
drove back to the Presidential man
sion.
John Adams, second President, set
a new fashion when he was inaugur
ated at Philadelphia- Street parades fi
and displays were absolutely lacking IB
when he was inducted into office, and H
the meagre newspaper accounts of the S
ceremony indicate that there was lit- j
tie enthusiasm as Adams was inatlgru-
rated.
v Jefferson Rode Horse.
Thomas Jefferson's inauguration is
the subject of historical controversy. ''-'M
John Sharp Williams, Senator from a
Mississippi, and an authority on the
life of Jefferson, declares that Jeffer- J
son rode to the Capitol, tied his horse a
to a hitching post, was inaugurated -1
and then went hack to his boarding
house and took his usual place at J
the dinner table. Other historians
declare that Jefferson was escorted
to the ca.pitol by a trocp of militia. 4
All agreo, however, that Jefferson set
his miner against all display and I
counted his inauguration as a matter
of but little import. At least, it is
certain that Jefferson was not escort
ed by the outgoing' President, for his- J
tory records that John Adams drove
away from Washington during the ,
night in order that he rrjgh not seo
or hear the Jefferson inaugural.
Secretary Of State Under Harding
Charles Evans Hughes, former Governor of New York, who has boem
named by President-elect Harding to the post of Secretary of State fv
ing his administration. 1